


Flesh of Chars

by mynameisyarra



Category: AR∀GO ロンドン市警特殊犯罪捜査官 | Arago, Cirque du Freak | The Saga of Darren Shan - Darren Shan
Genre: Family Issues, Gen, Misgendering, Past Abuse, Supernatural Elements, Transman Arago, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-09 08:11:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13477338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynameisyarra/pseuds/mynameisyarra
Summary: Steve Leonard’s runaway mom came back, killed his dad, and became his new dad, then whisked him to London where they will now live together. He always wanted to be a monster, but how would he fare living with one anyway?No need to read ARAGO to understand this fic.





	1. Cremation

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Steve doesn't misgender Arago on purpose in chapter 1, but he WILL do it in later chapters because he feels entitled to punish Arago for as long as he want to for leaving Steve behind. There will also be graphic description of someone's death in later chapters. So if that makes you uncomfortable, I suggest to turn back.

Steve was in the closet. 

Not his choice, however. His mom deemed it imperative to shove him there the moment dearest father walked in. He was peeking through the shutters, watching the arguments between his parents yet again. Ugly words he didn’t understand was thrown around carelessly, except this time, Mom wasn’t flinching.

She looked so much more… muscled now. Broader shoulders and all. She shouted back, fought back, not letting dad grab her like he used to do when berating her.

Then his dad screamed.

It was hard to see when you had to peek from the closet, but Steve could sniff the burnt smell of flesh in the air.

“What the fuck?!” Dad screamed in horror. “What the hell are you?!”

Steve heard the familiar tell tale sound of his mother’s sobbing. “I’m sorry.”

“Wh– no- STAY BACK YOU MONSTER!”

She didn’t stop advancing, a loud thud told Steve that she pinned him to the ground. The horrid smell told him that Dad’s flesh was being turned to char. He couldn’t see the process from here, but it must have been magic.

Steve’s mother was a monster, and he couldn’t be happier at the prospect.

“Shit!” Mom turned around as if she remembered something, probably Steve.

So of course he decided this would be a good time to burst out of the closet. “That was magic right?” He asked giddily. “That’s Dad, right? The ashes and soot? That’s him?” Steve forced himself to tone down the excitement when his mother flinched. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

“I--” she said. “I need to clean up.” She flexed her right hand, covered in the remains of his former father.

Steve scowled in annoyance, kicking the ash on the floor. “Are you gonna leave again?” Mom flinched, running water forgotten. Just a bit more. “I’m an orphan, you know.”

“No!” She turned around, her horrified expression barely visible in the dim light. “You still have me?”

“Do I?” Steve asked coldly.

A second. Two seconds. “...pack your suitcase.” Jackpot.

Steve grinned his toothy grin and bolted into his room.

Clothes, clothes, clothes, enough clothes. Needed to make space for his books.

He heard mom flipping through his collections. Steve remembered how she would help him hide his occult stuff from Dad. Dad never liked his hobby, said it was evil. Mom was the one who told him not everything Dad said was right, even though she could hardly said that in front of Dad.

“This is just misinformation, you won’t need it.” She threw the book she was reading to the corner. Steve stared as she kept going.

“This one is decent.” She let him have it. “Outdated.” She didn’t throw it this time. “Jesus Christ, did I buy you this one?” 

Steve frowned at her exclamation “No, I bought it myself.”

“It’s shit.” Steve scowled further. “I have better books at-- where we are going.”

Now  _ that  _ made him perk up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” She flipped another book. Steve checked the cover and-- oh. “This one is decent.”

“It’s lame.” Steve turned his back and started taking out the books in his backpack.

“It’s good for beginners though-- hey, didn’t Darren give you this?”

Steve slammed the book harder than he did before. “I don’t need it.”

“...did you guys have a fight?”

“He’s a vampire now.”

“Did he tell you that?” Steve could hear the laughter in her voice and he felt irritation rising up in him.

“No. He committed suicide and we have a funeral and all. But I caught him climbing out of his casket to go to his master.” He slammed the last book down. “It should have been me.”

"Okay back the  _ fuck  _ up young man. Ignore Darren. Why the hell would you want to be a vampire?" She didn’t give him a chance to tell her why--not that he wanted to- but her voice sounded softer now. "Vampires are just humans with a virus that gives them a longer lifespan and the need for human blood in their diet AND a severe allergy to sunlight! It's honestly a really shitty trade. I'll just teach you magic if you want to be stronger."

Steve looked up from his backpack “Magic that can kill vampire?”

“You are  _ twelve _ .”

He wisely didn’t say ‘and weren’t you a teen mom?’ considering she was the one who was going to teach him magic. Instead, he asked “Where are we going?”

“London.” Then she added. “I work there as a cop.”

In the end he didn’t bring any books. Just clothes and the money he kept for emergency.

“Hey.” Mom kneeled in front of him “Can you give me a high five?”

He looked at her and then at the hand she used to burn her ex. “Are you going to kill me too?”

“No! I was-- I want--” she took a deep breath and stopped stuttering “I just want to check your magical aptitude.”

Steve squinted at her before grabbing her hand instead of giving her a high five. She yelped in surprise, and Steve felt smug about it.

“You are immune.” She said it like it was a blessing. “You are-- you are immune…” And now she said it like it was a curse. “Shit.  _ Shit _ .”

“...so are we going or nah?” Steve asked impatiently.

“Yeah-- yeah, the sooner we get out of this dump the better.”


	2. Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the warning from previous chapter applies now

Steve knew she was no longer ‘Mom’.

Her shoulders were too broad, her chest too flat… the name on the driver’s license was Arago Hunt instead of the familiar Arava Leonard. Suddenly the insults Dad threw around made sense.

Arago Hunt was different from Mom in  _ some  _ ways. Like how he killed Dad with magic. Mom never stood her ground, she just took it as she told Steve to hide. It irritated Steve a lot. She was slow, she was stupid, she was a coward who stuttered her words. Yet he was protected by her for a long time. It made him felt weak.

And then she left. And then Dad got worse. No one else to threw his tantrum at but to Steve.

And then Darren left. Betrayed him, mocked him.

Steve couldn’t rely on anyone, not then and especially not now.

So what if Mom was now Arago? He was still Mom. Still stuttering when talking to Steve, still won’t look at his own son in the eyes.

Good.

He wanted the guy to stew in his own guilt. Let him suffer. Suffer. Suffer. Suffer the way Steve suffered. “Hey, Mom?” Arago flinched when Steve addressed him. Good. “So you are a cop?” It was less of a question and more of a veiled mockery.  _ You?  _ A cop? That’s  _ hilarious _ .

“Yeah.” The answer was clipped. Tense.

“How?” Someone like you? Who couldn’t even hold a steady part-time job? Who cried in the bathroom when Dad was out?

“Went to the Police Academy.”

Steve made his voice full of childish wonder, gratingly so. “They accepted you just like that?”

“Just like that.” Arago replied through gritted teeth.

* * *

 

Arago knew full well what Steve was doing. Testing him, trying to get a raise out of the one who abandoned his own son. Arago deserved it. So he sit tight and continued on driving as he accepted it. Let Steve lashed out until he was satisfied.

He deserved it.

Arago took a shaky breath as they arrived at a familiar area. Well, familiar for Arago. “Wait here.” He told Steve. The boy just glared at him accusingly. “Or not. You can come with me but make sure to keep quiet. He’s a good guy but he’s still a fae.” Steve’s eyes widened a bit, and Arago was hoping the mention of fae would deter him a bit. It didn’t.

Steve hopped out of his seat of the rented car and hurriedly went to Arago’s side. “I gotta make sure you aren’t lying again,” he said.

He deserved it, but it still stung.

* * *

 

Steve followed Arago to meet a leprechaun. Or  _ The  _ Leprechaun. Apparently there was only one leprechaun. Well, in  _ London  _ maybe. Steve scoffed at the idea of leprechauns only being a single entity. 

Steve was almost disappointed at how easy it was to find him. And the fact that he was shining shoes on the street made it even more disappointing. The fae was short, the kind of stature you would expected from a leprechaun. Before Steve could make his disparaging remark--because this couldn’t be a real leprechaun, right?- Arago greeted the man, “I am here to exchange the favor you owe me.”

All the man did was nodded, tidied up his space in mere seconds, then disappeared in a blink of an eye. The customer who was about to complain about the half-assed job the shoe shiner did just blinked and strangely went on his own merry way without care. “Glamour.” Arago explained to Steve. “It’s like illusion. Kinda. It helps making you go unnoticed.” 

Steve’s eyes lighted up in delight. “Magic.”

“Yeah.” Arago glanced at him for the first time since they left Ireland. “Magic.”


	3. Campfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They reached home. But it was not quite home yet.

They ditched the car in an alleyway and Steve wondered if Arago stole it after all. He offered Steve his hand to hold as they traverse through a seedy area. Of course Steve slapped it away. Arago drooped, “Just stay close to me.” Steve wouldn’t if the guy haven’t promised him a meal, if he was being honest. It annoyed the boy that Arago was walking awkwardly, very obviously trying to match up Steve’s pace. In retaliation, Steve took longer strides.

There was a tell-tale quirk of a smile on Arago’s face when Steve looked back. It annoyed him. So he walked faster. “Turn right!” Arago caught up with him easily. “It’s in that alleyway.”

“Suspiciously lit.” Steve commented on the lighting. “Are you going to murder me there?”   
“No!” He looked stricken.   
Steve sneered. “It was a joke.”   
“I know-- it’s just-” He mumbled and trailed off.

Steve snorted derisively as he entered the alleyway. Arago led him to a building that by all means should have been condemned. Or maybe it already  _ was _ condemned and Arago didn’t have enough money to actually live like a person. Pathetic.

“I know it’s bad right now.” Arago admitted, “But I’m going to make it better soon, for you.” He opened the door to his apartment. Steve expected a garbage dump but it actually looked livable. Much more livable than Leonard’s place, anyway. “I asked The Leprechaun to clean up.” Arago said wryly before gesturing to the warm meal waiting for them. “And to cook.”

Steve didn’t think much why there’s only enough food for one person. He just sat on the chair and inhaled his dinner. It tasted good. Mrs. Shan’s good.

Steve’s expression soured at the reminder. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating anymore.

Meanwhile Arago carefully set down Steve’s belonging beside the only bed Steve could see. Still chewing lazily on his sausage, Steve narrowed his eyes “I’m not sleeping on the couch, right?”

“Of course not! I’m the one sleeping there!” Arago reassured the boy.

Try-hard.

Arago clears his throat. “So, I was thinking we can go shopping for your new things tomorrow.”

“Just show me your promised grimoire and I’m golden.” Steve immediately rejected the offer.

“I know, I know, but we don’t really have food here, and I was thinking that we can go grocery shopping together so you can choose which food you want.” Arago said apologetically.

“Wow.” Steve looked unimpressed. “And you were planning to take care of a child like this?” He flinched and oh did it made Steve felt good. “You are still a shitty mom, you know that?”

The room started to tremble-- actually, no, the chair he was sitting on was trembling. “Beggar! For fuck’s sake, put my son down!” Arago snarled and this time it was  _ Steve _ who flinched. The chair turned out has been lifted a few inches off the floor before being dropped back to the ground unceremoniously. Steve almost stumbled back and fell down if Arago didn’t catch him.

Steve was stunned into silence as Arago fussed over him. “There’s a poltergeist here.” He finally said. “And it listens to  _ you _ .”

“No-- I didn’t tell him to-”

Steve cut him off before Arago could finish his sentence. “How do I get poltergeists to listen to me instead?”

Arago stared at Steve, looking like he was at loss of words before finally answering sheepishly, “You have to be stronger than me.”

What a blow to his pride.


End file.
